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EDITORIAL: WHAT "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" ENTAILS --
The
New York Times editorial: "...The
administration has
systematically shortchanged the wounded and
maimed who
make it back from harm's way. The nation has a
moral
obligation to help them face a whole new
challenge of survival."
Story here...
http://www.nytimes.com/
2007/06/03/opinion/03sun1.ht
ml?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=
slogin&oref=slogin
Story below:
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Editorial
What ‘Support Our Troops’ Entails
Whenever and however American troops withdraw from Iraq, a flood of
wounded and psychologically damaged veterans will present the nation for
decades to come with costly needs that already are overwhelming
government services.
The backlog of disability claims stands at more than 405,000, with cases
averaging 177 days to be processed — almost twice the backlog for
civilians. Experts estimate that an additional 400,000 claims will be
filed in the next two years.
At the same time, better battlefield care is sending veterans home with
severe brain traumas that might have been fatal in earlier wars. Complex
new treatments are required for these survivors and for veterans
suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms of depression
that veterans groups fear are driving up suicide rates.
Congress is taking the lead in prodding the Bush administration, which
shamefully underestimated the cost of treating the wounded. The House is
sensibly budgeting $6.6 billion more than last year for veterans health
care and processing claims. A series of other measures approved by the
House tackle only some of the problems but point in the right direction.
The Senate should act quickly on these proposals, which include:
¶Creation of up to five new brain trauma research centers to create
comprehensive treatment programs. This is a whole new field of intensive
care prompted by the signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,
inflicted in roadside bomb attacks.
¶Extending open-ended care for combat veterans to the first five years
after their return, from the current two years. This is needed not only
because of the backlog in claims and appeals but also because of the
slower-evolving nature of postwar stress trauma and other illnesses.
¶A more intensive program to contact veterans who need to know about
their rights.
Blue ribbon studies are under way, while the Department of Veterans
Affairs scrambles to add claims processors and case managers to deal
with such problems as outpatients who slip through the bureaucratic
cracks. Far more is needed — especially speeding up the disastrously
slow pace of judging benefit claims and appeals, and reforming
anachronistic disability standards from World War II that focused on
returning wounded veterans to factory and farm jobs, not the modern work
world.
Clearly, the administration has failed in more than its battle strategy
in Iraq and Afghanistan. While talking a lot about supporting the troops
and using them shamelessly in Congressional battles and election years,
the administration has systematically shortchanged the wounded and
maimed who make it back from harm’s way. The nation has a moral
obligation to help them face a whole new challenge of survival.
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Larry Scott --
